33 Side Hustles To Pay Off Debt Faster In 2024
Updated Oct 9, 2024 | Published Oct 20, 2023 | 17 min read
The best side hustles to pay off debt faster are incredibly easy to perform and cover a wide range of areas of interest and expertise.
Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom juggling household chores or prefer working with your hands, there’s a side hustle that will suit your temperament.
Read on, and we’ll break down the best side hustle ideas you can take on to clear your debt and add extra income to your bank account.
There are hundreds of side hustles you can do to earn extra money, from part-time jobs in your local area to remote roles based on your laptop.
We’ve ensured this article covers the full spectrum of side hustles, catering to various skill and experience levels to develop a new income stream.
So, with our criteria established, here’s our list of the best side hustles to pay off debt faster in 2024:
One of the best home-based business ideas for moms is selling items online, whether you’re clearing out unwanted clothes or selling toys.
There are several online platforms you can sign up for to sell items, with Facebook marketplace, Etsy, and eBay among the most commonly used.
Before listing items, ensure you’ve checked they’re in good working order and competitively priced to guarantee a sale.
It’s an easy-to-perform side hustle you can perform around your own schedule to bring in some extra money and clear your debts.
If you’re an animal lover with a bit of spare time here and there to perform casual work for extra cash, consider offering dog walking services.
Dog owners often don’t have enough time to walk their dogs twice a day and are on the lookout for people in the local area to help them out.
If you have a soft spot for furry friends and want a fun side hustle that gets you out of the house, dog walking is one of the best side hustles to pay off debt.
Another popular side gig for animal lovers who have a little more time on their hands is pet sitting, which can be performed alongside other freelance work.
While some clients will expect you to sit their pets at their homes, some pet-sitting jobs allow you to bring the animals to your own home instead.
This means you can earn good money by looking after pets while also working on other projects, making pet sitting a good source of passive income.
If you are pet sitting in a client’s home, make sure you respect their property and follow the schedule they’ve outlined for their pet’s daily activities.
For people who have a decent presence on major social media online platforms, affiliate marketing can be a great way to earn extra money on the side.
You’ll be partnering with established brands to promote their products and services on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media channels.
There are lots of good affiliate programs for mom bloggers, as well as programs for everything from the latest technology to advice on vacations.
With flexible hours and just a smartphone and internet connection to perform, affiliate marketing is another side hustle to bring in a passive income.
If you don’t want to commit to a full-time job but need more money to clear your debts, holding a garage sale is an excellent way to kill two birds with one stone.
You’ll give your house and garage a much-needed clearout and free up lots of space around the home while also making money for your debt repayment.
While holding a garage sale won’t stand in for a regular job, as a one-off event, it’ll certainly add to your bank account by bringing in a few extra bucks.
Freelancers with a good eye for detail and organizational skills can take a step towards financial freedom by working as event planners.
This involves working closely with clients to help them plan everything from birthday parties to corporate events with a large budget.
You’ll work alongside catering companies and venue owners to plan the event and manage the guests who respond favorably to invitations.
It’s another popular method for making money as a stay-at-home mom, and it’s easy to find clients in your local area on various job boards online.
If you only have a few hours here and there to pull in some extra income, you can earn money online by filling in a wide range of surveys.
There are hundreds of survey sites to choose from, each with its own industry or niche and variable minimum payment levels depending on the survey length.
Few side hustles to pay off debt are as flexible as filling in surveys, which can be done at the end of a hard day’s work while watching television in the evening.
Freelancers who are looking for some extra funds and don’t mind getting their hands dirty can work locally by providing home cleaning services.
You can set your own rates and work around your schedule, making home cleaning services a good option for people already committed to other work.
Some experience with basic odd jobs and attention to detail are essential for home cleaning, with nominal start-up costs for cleaning products.
Cleaning services are one of several year-round side hustle ideas, making it a good way to earn cash on the side part-time.
If you have a knack for helping others achieve their goals, there are lots of opportunities to earn money working as an online coach.
Whether helping someone in the financial sector or working with marketing professionals, coaching has lots of potential for high pay.
It’s also a great way to build up a list of professional contacts and network with people working full-time in your industry of choice.
With many studies confirming the significant impact coaching can have on success, it’s a growth industry worth getting your foot in the door.
Cooking and baking enthusiasts with a decent repertoire of dishes can work around their own schedules to earn extra money selling food.
This could be as simple as providing snacks and cakes for birthday parties or other events for family and friends who want catering services.
It can also involve setting up a local catering business and providing meals for corporate events, weddings, and other special occasions.
If you choose the latter approach, ensure you’ve researched the health and safety requirements in your area and got the relevant permits.
As with dog sitting, babysitting is another flexible side hustle you can work around your other obligations to bring in some extra cash.
Check out any local job boards to see if there are parents in your area looking for a babysitter, and ask around friends to see if they need your services.
Previous experience raising kids is a plus, although babysitting is also a great side hustle for teenagers not yet ready to enter the job market.
Reselling thrift items can be a surprisingly lucrative side hustle, particularly if you have a good eye for bargains and the time to hunt through stores.
Once you’ve picked up items from a thrift store, you can refurbish them if necessary and list them on eBay or other popular online marketplace sites.
If you’d prefer to have more control over your online store, you can use an e-commerce website builder to set up your own shop online, selling directly to customers.
With the potential to discover high-value items that most people overlook, selling thrift items is a side hustle you can fit around other work.
Freelancers looking for an additional passive income they can draw in while working on other projects can earn extra money renting a spare room.
You may be expected to clean the room and launder towels and other basics; otherwise, your lodger will be left to his or her own devices.
Obviously, you’ll need to live in a property with enough space to rent a room, and you can’t do this if you’re renting a property yourself.
These caveats aside, spare room rental is a common side hustle to pay off debt for freelancers who have a large house and space to spare.
Another side hustle that’s grown in popularity in recent years is becoming a driver for Lyft or Uber, with thousands of roles available throughout the US.
Driving for Uber and Lyft can be done around flexible hours, so you can even do this side hustle while working full-time to pay off debt faster.
You should have an approachable personality and a strong sense of the geographical location you’re working in before entering this line of work.
Another great source of income for people who are okay with getting their hands dirty is offering yard sale services in your local area.
As with babysitting, yard work is a popular side hustle for students and teenagers who have other commitments but want to earn extra money.
It involves cleaning away dead leaves, mowing lawns, and tending to flowerbeds, removing weeds, among other easy-to-perform chores.
Upselling furniture is one of the best craft business ideas for stay-at-home moms with a knack for hands-on creativity and art.
You can pick up worn furniture for free from friends and family or dirt-cheap if you have the patience to browse thrift stores and yard sales.
Once you’ve stocked up on paint and carpentry tools, you can go to town sprucing it up to make it look brand new or redecorating in your own unique style.
When the furniture is ready, you can sell it on the Facebook marketplace and other locally-based online selling websites for a sizeable profit.
Computer-savvy freelancers with a solid internet connection and a smartphone or computer can pay off debt faster working as a user tester.
User testing involves checking through an app or software for clients to ensure they function as intended, from the user interface to more complex processes.
Once a bug or issue has been flagged, it’s entered into a bug reporting system, which the clients can then evaluate and have developers fix the problem.
If you enjoy driving but have reservations about picking up strangers through Lyft or Uber, becoming an Amazon Flex driver is a good alternative.
The role requires a vehicle and driver’s license, and you’ll be tasked with picking up a batch of products and delivering them to customers.
You can work as much or as little as you like, making driving for Amazon Flex a great side hustle to bring in extra income as and when you please.
One of the most popular and easy Upwork jobs for beginners is working as a transcriptionist, which can be performed without any special qualifications.
As a transcriptionist, you’ll be given audio files from your clients, which need to be converted into text format and resubmitted for their approval.
This means you’ll have a good eye for grammar and punctuation, and the faster you can type, the more money you’ll bring in through your projects.
While transcribing can be tedious, it’s also something you can do whenever you have a few spare minutes throughout the day.
As with upselling furniture, selling arts and crafts products is a popular money earner for people who enjoy hands-on, creative pastimes.
There are hundreds of types of craft items you can sell, ranging from scented candles and other bathroom accessories to household ornaments.
You can sell these at local fairs or list them on websites such as Etsy, where you can potentially reach an international base of customers.
It’s a wonderful side hustle for those who want to combine their hobbies with a new revenue stream and showcase their artistic side.
Video content creation is another popular side hustle for freelancers who understand the basics of videography and editing processes.
You can work creating and editing content for clients across a wide range of industries, as well as work on developing your own video platform.
The best YouTube channels for moms can bring in thousands of dollars each month, with many other topics generating similar revenue streams.
There are lots of free tools you can access for editing content, so provided you have a good camera to record with, it’s an easy side hustle to begin.
Freelancers who drive can add food delivery services to their list of potential side hustles, whether working for a specific food vendor or freelancing.
You’ll be expected to deliver food to customers in a particular geographic range, ensuring it reaches them on time without getting cold.
Typically, food delivery services are busiest during the evenings, making it a popular side hustle for those who have day jobs but need more money.
As with video content creation, podcasting is a side hustle that requires an understanding of editing software and a decent microphone setup.
Since podcasting is growing in popularity, there’s a high demand for great content across a wide variety of topics and interests.
This means there’s also great potential for partnering with popular brands and featuring ads and other promotions as part of your podcast content.
You can start small and build up awareness of your podcast by inviting guests with subject matter expertise as your audience grows over time.
As with taking surveys to earn extra money as a side hustle, focus groups work in a similar way, paying you for your feedback on a given issue.
While some focus groups are interested in products and services from businesses, others can be oriented toward political or social issues.
They are also used for high-level medical research through organizations such as the British Medical Journal and other established research institutes.
This makes them a flexible source of income on the side that can suit all types of people, with many focus groups found in larger cities.
If you enjoy spending time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, working in social media marketing could be your perfect side hustle.
Social media marketing is among the easiest Fiverr jobs for beginners, with hundreds of entry-level listings you can apply for with little to no experience.
Understanding SEO and marketing is a plus, as you’ll be writing and scheduling posts for clients to help them attract more business.
You’ll also use SEO analytics tools to help drive the best content to online audiences and fine-tune marketing campaigns to achieve greater success.
On the topic of search engine optimization, SEO testing is another popular way to clear debt and bring in extra cash while working from home.
The role involves checking a website or other product’s keyword performance and Google search ranking so it can be tweaked to improve performance.
Your client will provide you with all the tools to do the job, and you can work around other work and family obligations when you have spare time.
Painters and decorators can pick up odd jobs as they please or work full-time, depending on their other work and family commitments.
Setup costs include paints and brushes, as well as dust, covers, and other specialist materials, depending on the complexity of the job.
With that said, most decorators factor in the cost of materials into their bids, so you will only have to cover these overheads for a short time.
It’s another popular side gig for practical people who want to meet clients face to face and see tangible results for their hard work.
For those with a flair for creative writing and a knack for researching fascinating topics, blogging can be a steady source of income to clear debts.
If you’re an aspiring freelance writer, you can approach blogs to see if they’re looking for talent, providing them with a portfolio of your work.
Alternatively, consider setting up your own blog to showcase your writing style and personal interests, using this when pitching potential clients.
Look into the various ways to monetize a blog so you can be sure to maximize your potential revenue stream as your readership grows over time.
Another creative side hustle with the potential to bring in a high standard of pay is photography, combining your hobby with finding financial freedom.
If you’re new to photography in a professional capacity, look into how to become a freelancer so you can present your services in the best possible light.
The initial outlay for professional photographers can be expensive, requiring quality cameras and lenses as well as editing software.
But if you’re already into photography as a hobby, it’s easy to find jobs online and locally and work toward achieving your financial goals.
Another potentially lucrative side gig to become debt-free is working as a freelance graphic designer and picking up gig work online.
Naturally, you’ll need to possess a degree of design skills, as well as understand how to use popular programs such as Adobe Illustrator and GIMP.
With that said, it’s also possible to get set up on a budget by installing free-to-use software while you learn the ropes and pick up more clients.
Graphic designers can work with a wide selection of website templates that can be edited in line with the requirements of a given client.
Bilingual and multilingual people looking for additional income can teach English in their spare time and help students develop their language skills.
There are hundreds of English courses on the internet, with many positions open to freelancers and others who can teach others new languages.
Teaching English is a staple of the gig economy, so if you can speak another language and need more money, it makes sense to give this a try.
With remote work increasingly commonplace among businesses of all sizes, there’s an abundance of roles available for virtual assistants.
In this role, you’ll help company managers with their scheduling and work diary, process paperwork, answer emails, and assist with reports.
Virtual assistants are typically paid by the hour, and while you might not earn top dollar, it’ll bring in steady and regular work to help clear debt.
Another great source of income for people who are good with spelling, punctuation, and grammar is freelance writing, creating content for online businesses.
Freelance writers are sought after for all types of content marketing initiatives, producing blog posts and other written content to enhance SEO.
If you don’t have much experience with freelance writing, you can work for free or even set up your own website to share your best work.
There are plenty of intuitive blog website builders you can use to help put together a professional-looking online presence to attract potential clients.
So, that’s a wrap on this guide to the best side hustles to earn extra money and pay off debt faster in your spare time.
Whether you’re looking for freelance work you can do from home or would prefer to engage with your local community, there’s a hustle to fit your requirements.
As well as paying off your debt faster, these side hustles can also help with your personal development, potentially leading to lucrative full-time careers.